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Rec.arts.int-fiction         Frequently-Asked Questions         Update 951204
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This is the Frequently-Asked Questions file (FAQ) for the Usenet newsgroup
rec.arts.int-fiction.  This file and that group concern themselves with the
authorship of interactive fiction.


This file is at least posted twice monthly (once at the beginning, once in
the middle) to rec.arts.int-fiction, and at the beginning of the month only
to rec.games.int-fiction, rec.games.programmer,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure, comp.sys.mac.games.adventure, comp.answers,
rec.answers, and news.answers[*].

([*]:  The *.answers postings are currently awaiting moderation.)

The latest update is available via anonymous FTP, as:
  <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.arts.int-fiction/FAQ>.

HTMLified versions can be found on the WWW, at:
  <http://speedracer.nmsu.edu/~jholder/>
  <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~wsr/IF/>.

I shall update the FAQ at least once a month, and possibly more often if
circumstances allow and warrant doing so.

                                 --- oOo ---

The contents of this FAQ:

  Sections - information about this file, and answers to your questions:
    (0)  New since last update (951103) and news flashes.
    (1)  What is the purpose of this newsgroup?
    (2)  What topics are appropriate here?
    (3)  Where can I get IF-related material?
    (4)  What authoring systems are available for writing text adventures?
    (5)  Where can I get references and papers on interactive fiction?
    (6)  What ever happened to... Infocom?
    (7)  Where can I get hints/solutions/walkthroughs for specific games?
    (8)  What is IF anyway?  What *are* you people talking about?
  Appendices - other items of interest:
    (A)  Recent discussions on rec.arts.int-fiction.
    (B)  The on-going development of IF.
    (C)  Acknowledgements and credits.

                                 --- oOo ---

(0)  New since last update (951103) and news flashes.

Hugo version 2 is now available from the if-archive.  See section (4) for
details.

"The Specification of the Z-Machine", revision 0.2, is also available from
the if-archive.  See appendix (B).

                                 --- oOo ---

(1)  What is the purpose of this newsgroup?

Rec.arts.int-fiction is a reasonably low volume, high signal-to-noise
newsgroup for the discussion of interactive fiction (IF; see section (8) for
a description of what IF is).  Discussion of IF implementation languages is
certainly appropriate in this group, and there are many pleas of a "how do I
do this...?" nature with reference to the nuts'n'bolts of particular
authoring systems (very nearly 100% of which are answered).  Ideas on
applying popular technologies (such as object oriented programming) to
problems in interactive fiction development (environment representation,
parsing, natural language generation, for example) are also welcomed.  We do
talk about existing adventure games here, but the discussions are from the
viewpoint of `the advancement of interactive fiction' -- with emphasis on the
development of IF as a literary genre and/or a form of computer-based
art/entertainment.  Many threads are relevant to, and can be followed by,
programmers and non-programmers alike.

Remember, rec.arts.int-fiction is a discussion group, and will only function
if people contribute to it.  So, while you ought to just read for a week or
two and get a taste of the flavour of the group before spicing things up with
your first post don't lurk too long.  We do want to hear from you...

                                 --- oOo ---

(2)  What topics are appropriate here?

(See also appendix (A) for examples of recent discussions).

Topics related to interactive fiction design, theory, and implementation are
appropriate.  If you are asking for help with a particular authoring system
it often helps if you post a short code example.  Please do not post very
long or irrelevant pieces of code.  Try to keep your examples succinct and
relevant.  Also, it is helpful if you include the name of the authoring
system, enclosed in square brackets, in the subject line of your post.  For
example, "[Inform] Question about inheritance".  This allows people to write
killfiles if they do not want to receive news about specific system.
Sometimes people post `giftware', clever pieces of code which solve a
particular problem.  These, too, should be kept as concise as possible.
`Giftware' is usually placed in the public domain.

Please don't post questions about specific adventure game puzzles to this
newsgroup, as it was set up only for discussion of interactive fiction from
the point of view of the *author*, not the *player*.  Please post these
queries to the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction, not here.

Discussions of MUDs (multi-user dungeons) belong on rec.games.mud.misc,
although discussion of multi-player IF theory is certainly appropriate here.
Information on LARPs (live-action role playing games) and FRPs (fantasy role
playing games) can be found in rec.games.frp.misc.  Questions about games
such as NETHACK, ANGBAND, etc. should be posted to rec.games.roguelike.misc.

This is not a newsgroup for the discussion of traditional `static' fiction.
Literary magazines, advertisements for writers, and other general fiction
topics should be posted to the appropriate newsgroup (alt.prose,
misc.writing, rec.arts.books, rec.arts.poems, rec.arts.prose).

Posting to more than one group is not a good idea.  Select the appropriate
newsgroup and post only to that one.  Just as you would not post questions
about how to solve a specific game in this group, please refrain from posting
questions on IF design and implementation in rec.games.int-fiction.  The two
groups, rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction, as you might imagine,
complement each other rather nicely.  They are however distinct from one
another and you should bear in mind their particular charter before sending a
post.

Controversial viewpoints are sometimes posted here and indeed are to be
encouraged; when you post a dissenting view, remember to attack the idea, not
the person.  Let us debate, not battle.

                                 --- oOo ---

(3)  Where can I get IF-related material?

By far the most extensive and up-to-date collection of authoring systems,
articles, games, interpreters, solutions and other IF-related software on the
Internet is at the FTP site ftp.gmd.de, the German National Research Center
for Information Technology.  This can be reached via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/>.

This site is mentioned (almost exclusively) throughout this FAQ and is
oftentimes referred to in posts to rec.arts.int-fiction simply as "gmd" or
the "if-archive".  If you are looking for a particular piece of IF-related
material you can do no better than to look here first.  To aid your
navigation of the directory hierarchy you should download the files
`Master-Index', `ls-lR' and `directory-tree' (these are updated on a daily
basis and should all be downloaded in ASCII, or text, mode for speed).

Uploads of new material are encouraged; they should be put in
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/incoming/if-archive/>.  Please send a covering e-mail to
the maintainer of the archive, Volker Blasius <[e-mail]>, describing
the purpose of your upload and what machines it works on.

The if-archive is mirrored at:
  <ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/doc/misc/if-archive/>               (upd daily)
  <ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/misc/if-archive/>                      (upd weekly)
  <ftp://ftp.achilles.net/wuarchive/doc/misc/if-archive/>        (upd ??????)
  <ftp://ftp.dstc.edu.au/pub/if-archive/>                        (upd ??????)
  <ftp://gateway1.brisnet.org.au/pub/if-stuff/>                  (upd weekly)
  (This site contains a full mirror of <if-archive/infocom/> and a partial
  (expanding) mirror of <if-archive/games/>).


The Infocom games are still under copyright.  They are commercial software
and must be bought.  They are not legally available on the Internet.

                                 --- oOo ---

(4)  What authoring systems are available for writing text adventures?

There are several.  Below I have listed all the currently publicly available
systems.  The systems have been categorized according to their current
popularity.  There are three categories, (i), (ii) and (iii), and within each
of these the actual systems are listed in alphabetical order only, and no
comparisons are made between systems, except in terms of current popularity.
All these systems are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/programming/>.

Programming examples for several systems are found, in the if-archive, in the
`examples' sub-directory of a particular system's `programming' directory.
For instance, TADS examples are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/programming/tads/examples/>.

The source code for a number of full-size games is found in a particular
system's sub-directory in the directory structure `games/source'.  For
instance, AGT sources are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/source/agt/>.

   ______________
  |              |
  | Category (i) |  The most popular, these are currently used by a large
  |______________|  number of people; many posts to rec.arts.int-fiction
                    concern these systems and their use; several new games
    have recently been produced with these systems; games produced with these
    systems are guaranteed a large audience.

  INFORM (compiler of Infocom-format story-files)
    Release:
      Inform 5.5 (v1502).  Library 5/12.
    Name/e-mail address of author:
      Graham Nelson <[e-mail]>.
    Platforms:
      Acorn Archimedes, Macintosh, Atari ST, Amiga, IBM PC (including
      pre-386), Linux, OS/2, UNIX, VMS (for DEC VAX or Alpha).
    Author/popular support:
      The author fixes library bugs whenever they are reported, and issues
      updates about every three months.  The compiler is updated
      approximately twice a year, and the 2nd edition documentation has
      recently been published.  Feedback from users is welcomed.  There are a
      large number of relevant posts to rec.arts.int-fiction, including
      frequent `giftware' examples.
    Programming knowledge required:
      Compiles an object oriented C-like language.  A quite sophisticated
      parser is supplied, which can be entirely invisible to the designer but
      is highly programmable if need be.  The library is itself written in
      INFORM and is relatively easy to modify.
    Licensing details and availability:
      Freeware.  The author retains copyright of the compiler in order to
      prevent commercial exploitation, but (subject only to mild
      restrictions) is even prepared to let people sell games produced by
      INFORM.  All source code (in portable ANSI C) is publicly available.
    Documentation and game sources:
      The main manual is the "Designer's Manual"; the "Technical Manual"
      documents very dry internals; the "Specification of the Z-Machine"
      defines the run-time format.  Much expanded 2nd editions of these
      manuals have recently become available.  A handful of game sources are
      available.  Another source of information is the INFORM HOME PAGE. This
      includes a beginner's tutorial and can be reached at
      <http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gdr11/inform/>.
    Features and limitations:
      Produces files in the "Z-machine" format, as used by Infocom.  Thus
      games can be played on any of the many publicly available Infocom
      interpreters.  A standard library is supplied; it is possible to
      replace library routines.  The run-time format does not permit dynamic
      memory allocation or object creation.  Low-level programming is
      provided for, including a full assembler.  At present there is no
      linking of precompiled modules, but the author intends to introduce
      this with release 6.
    Debugging features:
      Can print tracing information for calls to routines and a suite of
      debugging verbs is included in the library:  these monitor timers,
      daemons, actions, the object tree, the parser's internal workings and
      the like, and give the tester supernatural powers to travel and move
      things around.  The library can also record and play back scripts of
      commands.  Tools such as TXD (a disassembler) and INFODUMP (an
      inspector of objects, dictionary and grammar) are publicly available.

  TADS (Text Adventure Development System)
    Release:
      Version 2.2.0.5.
    Name/e-mail address of author:
      Michael J Roberts <[e-mail]>.
    Platforms:
      AmigaDOS, Atari ST/TT/Falcon, DECStation, Linux, Macintosh, MS-DOS,
      NeXT, OS/2, SGI Iris/Indigo, SunOS & Sun 3.
    Author/popular support:
      Posts to rec.arts.int-fiction dealing with all manner of TADS queries
      are not uncommon, and there are many third-party programming examples
      and utilities, including David Baggett's <[e-mail]> "WorldClass",
      a complete replacement class library.
    Programming knowledge required:
      Uses a high-level, largely object-oriented language very reminiscent of
      Pascal or C.
    Licensing details and availability:
      Shareware ($40).  Source code is not publicly available, but may be
      obtained from the author (a non-disclosure agreement must be signed).
    Documentation and game source:
      The "Overview Documentation" is available via anonymous FTP.  Upon
      registration the user is sent a printed version of the full 200 page
      "TADS Author's Manual".  Included with the overview is the source for a
      medium-sized game.  Other source for a few games is publicly available.
    Features and limitations:
      Provides virtual memory support, permitting games much larger than your
      computer's physical memory (although this is tempered with noticeable
      speed overheads at run-time).  Full multiple inheritance is supported,
      and incremental changes can be made to library files so one can include
      the standard library and override bits of it piece by piece.  Objects
      may be created at run-time (`dynamic object creation').  TADS also
      provides multiple UNDO, calls for general-purpose file I/O, and `user
      exits' that let one link in code compiled with other languages (such as
      C).
    Debugging features:
      TDB (supplied upon registration) is a full-featured source-level
      debugger.  It allows single-stepping through your source, the setting
      of breakpoints at specific lines, and the examination and alteration of
      variables in your program.

   _______________
  |               |
  | Category (ii) |  Intermediate popularity and new systems, these do not
  |_______________|  appeal to quite as large an audience as those in
                     category (i) or are new systems (less than one year old)
    and have not yet had sufficient time to prove their appeal; there are
    infrequent posts to rec.arts.int-fiction dealing with these systems and
    their use; occasionally games are produced using these systems.

  AGT (Adventure Game Toolkit)
    Release:
      Version 1.83.
    Names/e-mail addresses of authors:
      David R Malmberg <[e-mail]>
      Mark J Welch.
    Platforms:
      Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, MS-DOS, Windows.  There seem to be many
      different versions for different platforms.
    Author/popular support:
      No longer supported by the authors.  Posts to rec.arts.int-fiction are
      now few and far between.
    Programming knowledge required:
      Uses a meta-language similar to English.  Standard Level games can be
      created with no prior programming knowledge.
    Licensing details and availability:
      Public domain (was shareware until 1994).  Turbo Pascal 4.0/5.0/5.5/6.0
      source code is available.  Games produced with AGT are freely
      distributable in whatever manner you choose.  Both "standard" and
      "master" editions are available.
    Documentation and game sources:
      The documentation available on the Internet is out-of-date in regard to
      author support (which no longer applies) and licensing details (AGT is
      now public domain).  Included is the source for a small game, CRUSADE.
      Other source for some two dozen games is publicly available.
    Features and limitations:
      Creates Standard Level games ("require no programming experience
      (honestly!), only a fertile imagination") or Professional Level games.
      There are limitations on the number of locations (200) and
      animate/inanimate objects (100 each) in a game.  As AGT is no longer
      supported by the authors there will be no future upgrades/bug-fixes.
    Debugging features:
      A few basic debugging commands (such as MOVEPLAYER and LISTROOMS) to be
      used at run-time.

  ALAN (Adventure LANguage System)
    Release:
      Version 2.5(n) (n=correction levels (1), (2) or (3); varies between
      platforms; level (3) is currently Macintosh only).
    Names/e-mail addresses of authors:
      Thomas Nilsson <[e-mail]>
      Gran Forslund <[e-mail]>.
    Platforms:
      Amiga, Macintosh, MS-DOS, OS/2, sun4 (Solaris1, SunOS 4.1), sun4
      (Solaris2, SunOS 5.x), HP-UX, VAX/VMS.
    Author/popular support:
      As a non-profit making project user support may vary, although the
      authors will endeavour to act on error reports sent by e-mail.
    Programming knowledge required:
      Uses a very high-level language.  With an easy-to-learn syntax and
      semantics, ALAN takes a descriptive view of the concepts of adventure
      authoring.  There are no variables, subroutines or other traditional
      programming constructs.  A general statement which describes the ALAN
      philosophy is that a game's author should not need to program, only
      describe, what the player will see.
    Licensing details and availability:
      Freeware although the source is unavailable (except for porting).
      Documentation and the interpreter are available via anonymous FTP, and
      the interpreter may be freely distributed with compiled games for
      commercial purposes (ie, no fee or royalties are required if you start
      to sell games).  The compiler is only available from the authors; a
      mail server is set up for this purpose, <[e-mail]>. Each
      distribution of the compiler package is registered to the requestor in
      order to make contact possible (updates, asking for feedback or
      solutions to problems).
    Documentation and game sources:
      The manual, available separately in PostScript or ASCII format or as
      part of the interpreter package, contains a lot of detail on all
      aspects of IF authorship from a beginner's level upwards.  A very few
      examples of ALAN source are available, but no full-game source.
    Features and limitations:
      Actors may be scripted and rules are evaluated between each actors turn
      which can trigger actions.  Events can be triggered by objects, actors
      or locations.  Expansion of the parser syntax is simple.  ALAN lacks
      actor interaction and inheritance (although a prototype of v3.0
      supports this).  General verbs can be overridden both for locations and
      objects on which they are invoked.  Parser syntax is simple to expand
      upon, and their is support for multinational character input.
    Debugging features:
      The debugger currently supports viewing (but not altering) of most
      data, tracing of significant parts of the execution and single-stepping
      though compiled code.

  ARCHETYPE
    Release:
      Version 1.01 (1.02 coming soon).
    Name/e-mail address of author:
      Derek T Jones <[e-mail]>.
    Platforms:
      IBM PCs (8088 and above, DOS 3.3 or later).
    Author/popular support:
      The author will gladly answer any e-mails, and even letters through the
      regular mail.  He works on ARCHETYPE in his spare time, a few hours a
      week.  Consequently updates may be infrequent, but hopefully at least
      once a year (and bug-fixes as necessary). If a quick patch would solve
      a problem, he will (e-)mail this to individual users.
    Programming knowledge required:
      Something of an experiment in language design:  could a language be
      this simple and still be useful enough to create games?  Consequently
      it is a very simple language; it is small and object oriented, with
      some features that support the writing of adventure games.
    Licensing details and availability:
      Freeware.  Source code (in Turbo Pascal 5.0) is also freeware.
    Documentation and game sources:
      The documents "How To Quickly Write An Adventure Game" and "The
      Archetype Language Reference Manual", which are archived with the
      ARCHETYPE distribution, between them fully describe the language and
      its use.  Also, there is the source for two full games, and a much
      smaller bare-bones demonstration.
    Features and limitations:
      Supports dynamic instantiation of objects, and can store the state of
      every object, including dynamic objects, to a save-state.  There is a
      system object which supports operations such as string sorting and
      context-dependent parsing.  There is no type-checking, but almost no
      run-time errors either.  It only supports single inheritance, integer
      math, and messages cannot have any arguments except the sender.  There
      are no lists or arrays or local variables.
    Debugging features:
      Statement, expression, and message tracing only.  No interactive
      debugging (cannot modify variables, etc. at run-time), but you can
      compile a program with symbolic information so that the trace messages
      are in terms of your original source code.

  HUGO
    Release:
      Version 2.0.
    Name/e-mail address of author:
      Kent Tessman <[e-mail]>.
    Platforms:
      PC only (although other ports are soon to follow).
    Author/popular support:
      The author intends to continue supporting HUGO indefinitely, and is
      developing further releases of the compiler/engine package.  He will
      take e-mail and respond to posts.  In his own words, he will
      contribute "anything I can offer" to the product.  Otherwise, HUGO is
      relatively new, and as yet there have been few posts to
      rec.arts.int-fiction concerning the system.
    Programming knowledge required:
      Owes its origins to INFORM, C, and BASIC.  It is thus object-oriented,
      has a straight-forward syntax, and an effort has been made to keep
      programming as free of punctuation and confusing formatting as much as
      possible.  Much low-level (assembly) programming is done within the
      system itself (so the user needn't worry about it).
    Licensing details and availability:
      Freeware, so long as it is distributed in an unmodified manner.  The C
      source code is readily available.  Games produced by a user are the
      property of that author, and may be freely distributed.  Only if the
      game (including any included libraries from HUGO) or the HUGO engine
      is intended for distribution in any commercial manner (shareware or
      otherwise) must Kent Tessman be contacted for permission.
    Documentation and game sources:
      The "Hugo Programming Manual" covers in detail all of Hugo's features.
      An extensively annotated tutorial game contains examples of almost
      everything Hugo can do.  Currently the only available game source code
      is that supplied with the distribution, including a port of ADVENTURE,
      a small sample game, and a shell-game to build on.
    Features and limitations:
      The compiler is fast and features pre-compiled libraries.  Features
      include global events, object-linked events, object/character scripts,
      hierarchical inheritance and the ability to use objects as classes,
      dynamic run-time dictionary creation, multiple-turn undo, and
      (practically) unlimited game file size due to indexed addressing.  HUGO
      allows the programmer to fully manipulate the interpretation of the
      input line prior to engine parsing.
    Debugging features:
      The HUGOFIX library, which is a suite of debugging routines allowing
      the user to monitor, set, and check almost every aspect of a game at
      run-time.  HUGOFIX calls a number of engine-based functions as well as
      employing routines written entirely in the HUGO language.

   ________________
  |                |
  | Category (iii) |  Little current popularity, these are not generally
  |________________|  popular; they often cater to only a small number of
                      platforms (usually only PCs) and may be less advanced
    or more specialised (such as handling graphics- or multimedia-based
    games) than systems in the other categories; games are rarely produced
    with these systems.

  ADL       ADVENT   ADVENTURA   ADVSYS   AGIFG   AVENTURO   DROOL
  FIGMENT   GAGS     GAMESCAPE   GTAC     LADS    OASYS      QUESTMAKER

A NOTE ON AUTHOR SUPPORT:  While most authors are happy to accept e-mail
concerning their system please remember that reading and responding to e-mail
does take time.  While bug reports, requests/suggestions for new features,
etc. should be sent to the author directly, questions on how to implement a
particular feature or operate a particular function should go to
rec.arts.int-fiction, where time is not an issue.

A NOTE ON LICENSING:  Games written with some authoring systems, notably
HUGO, may not be distributed for money (shareware or commercial) without the
system author's express consent.  You should always read and abide by any and
all licensing details relating to the system which you choose.  If you do not
like the licensing arrangements, use a different system.

For a more detailed description of several authoring systems, plus advice on
writing your own game, see Nathan Torkington's <[e-mail]>
"Adventure Authoring Systems FAQ" (23rd November 1994), which is available
via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/authoring-systems.FAQ>.

Limited information on a large number of authoring systems (commercial,
shareware, and freeware, past and present) can be found in Hans Persson's
<[e-mail]> two documents, "Information about interactive
fiction games" and "Adventure Game Creators".  These are both available via
anonymous FTP as:
  <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/adventure-game-history.txt>
  <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/adventure-game-systems.txt>

A hypertext version of Hans' former document can be found on his web page,
at <http://www.lysator.liu.se/~unicorn/adv/agh-index.html>.

The `market leaders', as it were, are undoubtedly INFORM and TADS.  Bob
Newell <[e-mail]> has written a useful document, the "Which is
better TADS or INFORM FAQ".  Edition 1.1 (12th April 1995) is available via
anonymous FTP as <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/TADS-vs-Inform.FAQ>.

                                 --- oOo ---

(5)  Where can I get references and papers on interactive fiction?

Several papers on IF design and theory are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/>.

  David Graves <[e-mail]> has published three papers.  They are:
    "Second Generation Adventure Games" (which focuses on the physical world
    model, parsing, text generation, and simple agent planning), "Bringing
    Characters to Life" (which summarizes the progress in Artificial
    Personality over the last two decades), and "Plot Automation" based on
    his presentation at the Computer Game Developer's Conference in '91.
    These are the files `Graves.1', `Graves.2' and `Graves.3' respectively.

  Paul Munn's senior project paper "The Application of Directed Acyclic
    Graphs to First Generation Interactive Fiction" contains ideas on the use
    of DAGs in IF and a TADS implementation of this, as well as information
    on the evolution of IF, past and future.  The paper, in ascii format and
    as a WordPerfect document (with footnotes), and the TADS examples are
    available as a zipped archive, `plotdag.zip'.

  Graham Nelson's "The Craft of Adventure" is a treatise on writing a work of
    IF.  This is currently in its 2nd edition and is available either as
    plain text or in a TeX version. Get either the file
    `Craft.Of.Adventure.txt' or `Craft.Of.Adventure.tex'.

  Gerry Kevin Wilson <[e-mail]> has thoughtfully
    published his views on designing and writing IF in "Whizzard's Guide to
    Text Adventure Authorship".  This is the file `authorship-guide.txt'.  Be
    sure, also, to get the updates to this file (there are currently two,
    `authorship-guide.sup1' and `authorship-guide.sup2'.)

Jorn Barger's <[e-mail]> article, "IF, AI, and the confabulating-arranger
model of interactive fiction" is available on the WWW as
<http://www.mcs.net/~jorn/html/ai/ifdesign.html>.

The Oz Project, directed by Joseph Bates at the Carnegie-Mellon School of
Computer Science, is developing technology for high quality Interactive
Fiction.  Their goal is to provide users with the experience of living in
a dramatically interesting simulated world that includes simulated people.
Their focus is on the simulations behind the interface, which they call
the deep structure of virtual reality.

You can use a web browser to access Oz papers, images, and project
information from <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/Groups/oz/>.

The full and up-to-date list of Oz technical reports is available on the WWW
as <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/Groups/oz/papers.html>.

Many of the papers, as postscript files, are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://reports.adm.cs.cmu.edu/>.

Two regular IF magazines are available on the Internet, via anonymous FTP
from <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/magazines/>.

  SPAG (the Society for the Preservation of Adventure Games) carries many
    independent reviews of IF games, as well as the occasional article and a
    small number of letters to the editor.  It is currently in its seventh
    issue.  To subscribe (issues received as e-mail) just send an e-mail to
    [e-mail] with the line `subscribe <your e-mail address
    here>'.  The seven issues and the SPAG FAQ are available as ascii files
    only.  The editor of SPAG is Gerry Kevin Wilson.

  XYZZYnews appears bi-monthly and usually contains two or three articles on
    IF design, sneak previews of upcoming games, spoilers/hints for specific
    games, game reviews, and perhaps an interview with one of the leading
    lights in the IF world.  The current issue is number 6. Subscription
    details (for the printed version and/or the XYZZYnews companion disk) are
    available in each issue of the magazine.  XYZZYnews is available from
    ftp.gmd.de in either in ASCII format or as PDF files. The full text for
    each issue is also available from the XYZZYnews Web site
    <http://www.interport.net/~eileen/design/xyzzynews/>, where additional
    content can also be found.

Both magazines are free of charge in their electronic versions (there is a
small p&p fee for the print version/companion disk of XYZZYnews). Both rely
on reader input (reviews and articles) to keep going.  So, read the back
issues and then contribute to future issues!

Some reading related to interactive fiction includes:

  Buckles, Mary Ann. "Interactive Fiction:  the Computer Storygame
    `Adventure'" (University of California at San Diego, 1985).  Focuses only
    on the original adventure game.  Limited in scope, but a fun read for any
    hard-core fan of interactive fiction theory.

  Laurel, Brenda.  "Towards the Design of a Computer-based Interactive
    Fantasy System" (Ohio State University 1986).  See also her "Computers as
    Theatre" (Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, 1991, ISBN 0-201-51048-0, new
    edition in 1993, ISBN 0-201-55060-1).  This book extends the work that
    Laurel began in her PhD dissertation, which addresses the problems in
    automating plots which integrate the player's actions.

  Meehan, James.  "The Metanovel:  Writing Stories by Computer" (Yale 1976).
    Meehan used the natural language technology of Roger Schank's Yale group
    to construct some primitive Aesop's fables.

  Sloane, Sarah.  "Interactive Fiction, Virtual Realities, and the
    Reading-Writing Relationship" (Ohio State University 1991).  Sloane
    presents her views on narrative theory, as well as analyizing IF R&D in
    progress at CMU (led by Joe Bates) and at Interactive Fantasies (Brengle
    and Graves).

These four PhD dissertations are available for ~$50 each from University
Microfilms, [phone].  (Half price for students).

Here are references on `rules' for story generation:

  Aristotle.  "The Poetics".  Translated by Ingram Bywater.  In "Rhetoric and
    Poetics of Aristotle".  New York:  The Modern Library, 1954.  Aristotle
    defines the basic elements used to construct stories and drama, although
    his model is frequently attacked by modern narrative-theory researchers.

  Campbell, Joseph.  "Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949).  New Jersey:
    Princeton University Press.  Campbell defines the elements which are
    common to heroic folktales in all cultures, forming a single template,
    which is called `the monomyth'.

  Polti, Georges.  "The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations" (1916).  Boston:  The
    Writer, Inc.  [phone].  ~$10.  (First published in 1895 as "Les
    trente-six situations dramatiques").  See also "Whizzard's Guide to Text
    Adventure Authorship" for a more IF-centric update on Polti's ideas.

  Propp, Vladimir. "Morphology of the Folk Tale" (1968).  University of
    Texas Press, Austin.  This analysis of the structure of Russian folktales
    was first published in 1928 as "Morfologija skazki".

Frequent articles relating to interactive fiction can be found in:

  "Interactive Entertainment Design" (formerly the "Journal of Computer Game
    Design").  Subscriptions are $36 per year (it is a non-profit
    publication) for six issues.  Write to 5251 Sierra Road, San Jose,
    California, 95132.  The editor (Chris Crawford) welcomes articles from
    the readership; contributors receive a free one-year extension on their
    subscription.

Stephen Granade's <[e-mail]> more expansive "Interactive Fiction
Bibliography" (October 1995) is available via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/if-bibliography.txt>.

                                 --- oOo ---

(6)  What ever happened to... Infocom?

Around 1986/87 Infocom was having serious financial trouble.  Their database
product, CORNERSTONE, was expensive to develop but was not selling.
Activision then bought Infocom.  Infocom was relocated to Mountain View,
California, but most of the staff were laid off.  Infocom became a label, and
Activision went through a radical reorganization.  Finally, Mediagenic was
formed as the parent company of Activision and Infocom.  You may see new
products come out under the Infocom label, but the original writers have
moved on.  Mediagenic went nearly bankrupt, and merged with The Disc Company,
which continues to hold the copyright (and is still selling) the old Infocom
games.

For further information on the rise and fall of Infocom, as well as currently
available anthologies of their games, the reader is referred to Paul David
Doherty's <[e-mail]> "Infocom Fact Sheet".  Release 4.8
(3rd September 1995) is available via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/info/fact-sheet.txt>.

As an alternative take a look at the rec.games.int-fiction FAQ maintained by
Stephen van Egmond <[e-mail]>.  This is
periodically posted to rec.games.int-fiction, and is also available via
anonymous FTP as <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.games.int-fiction/FAQ>.

                                 --- oOo ---

(7)  Where can I get hints/solutions/walkthroughs for specific games?

The if-archive has numerous files of this ilk.  These are available via
anonymous FTP from <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/solutions/>.

Remember, if you have questions on how to solve a particular puzzle or
particular game, post to rec.games.int-fiction, not to rec.arts.int-fiction.

                                 --- oOo ---

(8)  What is IF anyway?  What *are* you people talking about?

Here are some definitions related to IF:

  Browse Around:  The player wanders and explores a simulated environment.

  Character Modeling:  The system simulates characters with whom the player
    may interact.  Characters may generate goals, actions, and emotions.
    Character modeling may be broken down into intelligence modeling and
    emotion modeling.

  Computer Adapted Story Telling:  A presentation of different but consistent
    experiences of the same story.  Could be achieved through point of view
    shift, browse around, or plot branching.

  Dramatic Modeling:  The system has a representation for dramatic elements
    (plot fragments) and a `plot calculus' (a set of rules for manipulating
    the symbols representing plot fragments).  This allows the system to do
    plot generation on the fly, while still taking into account the actions
    of the player character.

  Emotion Modeling:  Representation of emotions as data, and rules for
    processing that data to derive behaviours consistent with a character's
    perceived personality.  Emotion modeling is typically focused on the
    feelings associated with interpersonal interaction.

  Intelligence Modeling:  Rules for simulating intelligent behaviour by
    characters.  This may include setting goals and making plans to achieve
    them.  Since intelligence modeling is typically focused on problems of
    logistics, it is tightly coupled with physical modeling.

  Interactive Fantasy:  A first person dramatic experience.  Achieved through
    a combination of physical modeling, character modeling, and dramatic
    modeling.  (Consider the Star Trek Holodeck as a vision of a future
    Interactive Fantasy platform).

  Interactive Fiction:  Narrative based experiences that tend to be either
    puzzle solving or plot branching.  This term is usually applied to the
    `first generation' Adventure games -- those developed in the last decade.
    The second generation of IF is moving towards the development of
    Interactive Fantasy as a new genre.

  Physical Modeling:  The system simulates a physical universe with which the
    player may interact.

  Plot Branching:  A tree or network of fixed content.

  Point of View Shift:  The first-person viewpoint moves between characters.

  Progressive Disclosure:  Content is fixed, but exposure to the content
    varies.

  User Paced Sequence:  A linear sequence of fixed content.

Interactive fiction is difficult to define concretely since, as an artistic
form, it is still in its infancy.  The first work of computer-based IF was a
story-game called ADVENTURE, written circa 1977.  To this day, games of this
type are called adventure games, named after the original instance.

There are many forms of interactive fiction, but the one thing they have in
common is that the reader is allowed some degree of interaction with the
story.  When we talk about IF in this news group, we are talking about
computer-based works of fiction.  A traditional book is not interactive --
you just read it from front to back, and read the same text every time.
Pick-a-path books, however, are interactive; this is probably the lowest form
of IF.  One goal of IF developers is to take advantage of the flexibility of
the computer to facilitate the creation of new forms of entertainment.

Adventure games are an early form of computer-based IF.  They are
*subjective* IF, that is, the player has an influence on the plot of the
story.  The reader can influence events via his choices about what to do
next, the ordering of his actions, etc.  In *objective* IF, the reader has
some influence on the presentation of the story, but not the content.
Consider a hypertext-based story, where you can ask for more information on a
given person or plot event, but you cannot influence the flow of events.
Infocomics are an example of objective interactive fiction.

IF offers great potential, but since its appearance about fifteen years ago,
its growth has been plagued by two problems:  how to develop the computer
technology required to support a work of interactive fiction, and how to
develop stories that exploit this new genre.

Interactive fiction differs from traditional fiction in that the author gives
up much of the control of the flow of the story.  This is because the reader
(or player) is allowed to participate to some degree in the shaping of the
plot through his role as a character in the action.  Since the
player/protagonist will be making decisions about what he will do next, the
author must allow for multiple paths through a set of plot potentials.  The
most primitive way of doing this is through plot branching:  presenting the
reader with a small set of fixed choices, each set corresponding to a branch
in a fixed set of potential plot paths.  Unfortunately, this technique is
intrinsically limited and has historically resulted in relatively
uninteresting games.

A more interesting approach would be to create a rich set of plot fragments
and character behaviors which may be assembled by the computer to allow the
creation of new stories each time the program is used.  In the finished
product, the individual elements of the story can combine in new and
wonderful ways not anticipated by the author or programmer.

In this news group, we discuss the technical and artistic aspects of the
interactive fiction genre.  While we occasionally do mention `off-the-shelf'
IF products, it is typically in the context of comparing and contrasting
their structure or artistic merit.

                                 --- oOo ---

(A)  Recent discussions on rec.arts.int-fiction.

This appendix is intended to give the new reader more of an insight to what
sort of topics we discuss on this newsgroup.  Over the past month
rec.arts.int-fiction has carried discussions based on the following topics:

  Questions and answers on programming the INFORM and TADS authoring systems.
  The financial viability of, public interest in, and marketing of IF.
  News and comments on Graham Nelson's Standard 0.2 for Infocom-compatible
    interpreters.
  Technical discussion of the Z-machine and Z-code.
  Various ideas for "next generation" authoring systems (for instance, based
    on the Scheme programming language)

The very-nearly-complete and unabridged archives of posts to
rec.arts.int-fiction are stored, and are available for public scrutiny via
anonymous FTP, at <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.arts.int-fiction/>.

                                 --- oOo ---

(B)  The on-going development of IF.

Interactive fiction is a developing field.  While we have not quite entered
another `Golden Age of IF' (a term applied to the early- to mid-1980s) the
past few years have seen a significant rise in both quantity and quality.
Games such as CURSES and the UNNKULIAN series rekindled many people's
interest in the field, and more recently others, such as THE LEGEND LIVES!,
have pioneered exploration in new directions.  Authoring systems, too, have
increased in number, complexity, and power, with TADS and INFORM paving the
way for others, HUGO for instance.  Here are some examples of what's been
happening this past month:

  The Specification of the Z-Machine, A New Standard:  Aiming to describe
    *exactly* what the Z-Machine, the imaginary computer which runs Infocom
    and Inform story files, should do Graham Nelson (author of Inform) and
    friends have proposed a Standard to which interpreters and game authors
    should adhere.  The document covers all the assembly language opcodes and
    details features such as sound, colour, runes and character graphics, and
    mouse support.  The current version of the document is 0.2 and is
    available via anonymous FTP from
    <ftp://ftp.gmd/if-archive/infocom/interpreters/>.  Get either the file
    <Specification.txt> or <Specification.tex>.


                                 --- oOo ---

(C)  Acknowledgements and credits.

This file of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is maintained by Julian Arnold
<[e-mail]>.  Although I have included a great deal of
information provided by other people, and have retained much of that which
the previous maintainer wrote, the FAQ is public domain.  As such it may be
freely archived, distributed, or even modified.  I would ask though that you
do not alter the contents and then redistribute it as the
rec.arts.int-fiction FAQ, as this will only confuse and confound those people
it is meant to help.  If you quote from it then please, as a matter of
courtesy if nothing else, acknowledge this source.

  "I say now, what you gonna do...?  Gonna brown nose!  Gonna brown nose!"
      -- "Do the Brown Nose", The Dead Milkmen

This document owes much to the style in which I found it, namely that of Jorn
Barger <[e-mail]> (who was the first maintainer), and He Who Came After,
David A Graves <[e-mail]>.  Many thanks to them for doing such an
excellent job.

Suggestions have been made and help given by many people.  I ought to pay
especial reverence to Dave Baggett, Volker Blasius, Null Dogmas, Paul David
Doherty, Stephen van Egmond, Thomas Nilsson, Robert A Pelak and Gareth Rees.
Many thanks to them.  If you don't see your name above and you think it ought
to be don't despair.  Just write me some hate-mail and I'll add your name to
the list (... in capitals if you like).

Anyone who's product has been mentioned in this FAQ can pat themselves on the
back, and may request a kiss from their favourite person.  You've helped
considerably so thank-you.  The authors of the authoring systems described in
section (4) who took the time to answer my questions have been particularly
helpful, and may thus give a kiss to their favourite person as well.

Finally, a great big thank-you goes to everyone at rec.arts.int-fiction, for
without them there wouldn't be a lot of point in this FAQ, would there?

                                 --- oOo ---

As this document is supplied gratis, with no demand or request for payment or
other recompense, the author is hereby pleased to announce that in no event
whatsoever will he be held liable in any way for any loss of data, loss of
earnings, loss of savings, general disappointment or other unhappiness
resulting from the use of or abuse of or inability to use any and all
information or misinformation within or indeed without this document, or from
any admission or omission therein or thereof which either directly or
indirectly causes any one, or any combination of two or more, of the
aforementioned unpleasantries.  On the other hand, feel free to attribute any
good things which happen to you or those around you to this document in
general, and to me in particular.

E-mail to <[e-mail]> concerning this FAQ is welcomed.

                                 --- oOo ---